Juan Manuel Santos former President of the Republic of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. In 2016, he received the Nobel Peace Prize “for his resolute and courageous efforts to end the country's more than 50-year-long civil war”. Before becoming president, he was Minister of Foreign Trade, Finance and Public Credit, and National Defense. Santos graduated from the Naval Cadet School in Cartagena.

He did his undergraduate studies in Economics and Business Administration at the University of Kansas and postgraduate studies at The London School of Economics, Harvard University School of Government, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He has been awarded honorary degrees from several universities, including La Sorbonne and the London School of Economics.

He is currently the Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Compaz Foundation, which he created to promote peace-building and environmental conservation, primarily through leadership. He is a member of several boards, including the International Crisis Group, Wildlife Conservation Society and Rockefeller Foundation. He is a member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and is part of a group of wise men called “The Elders”.